


Under The Radar

by Abboz



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Headcanon, Long-Term Relationship(s), Mentions of Uncle Clint and Auntie Nat, Mild Language, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reunion, Secret Marriage, Worried Clint Barton, fugitive Avengers, technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25674397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abboz/pseuds/Abboz
Summary: Struggling to get used to house arrest, the last thing Clint expects is to find Tony at his door given that the last time he saw him was from the inside of a cell. He doesn't exactly have anything nice to say to the man whose mistakes he, Nat, and their friends, are still paying for either. Especially because he's on his own and miserable that she can't join him. But if Stark can find a way to help improve their situation, maybe the rift through the Avengers can start healing too.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Tony Stark, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	Under The Radar

“What do you want, Stark?” Staring hard-faced at him, Clint shifted his hand higher up the door, poising to kick him out of the house and shut it in his face.  
  
“You’re still mad at me.”  
  
“Of course I’m mad.” A touch of disbelief mixed with the anger on his features. “I’m mad because Nat just wanted to keep everyone together; didn’t matter what I thought about those stupid Accords, she was right, we needed a compromise but you pitted us against each other. Now we’ve been separated. You wouldn’t back down, it got so wildly out of hand that Rhodey almost died and even then you couldn’t just admit you were wrong.”  
  
“Barton…”  
  
Though his expression didn’t change, he did relent enough to step aside and let him in so he could close the door. “You screwed me over; you put my partner in danger, she’s still in danger now and I’m under fucking house arrest so I can’t even be out there with her. I haven’t seen her since I made this deal, all I know most days is that she’s still alive. And after you pushed for this, it’s not even affected you; you’re as free as ever but you did nothing to help us out of that prison, I’d still be rotting there if it was down to you. And here you are making house calls instead of actually helping the others, helping Nat.”  
  
“You don’t think I checked that Rogers got all four of you out? I have been trying to help but I couldn’t make this all go away. I was trying to find you though, all of you. Then I heard you’d made a deal, I was glad to hear you’d got to go home. I thought this would be the better option for you; this way you see your family, your wife. But then I found out you were here?”  
  
“Still thinking you know best.” He laughed under his breath. “You still haven’t figured it out? And Pepper hasn’t told you?”  
  
“Told me what?”  
  
“Laura’s my sister-in-law. They’re my late brother’s kids. I’ve been helping take care of them and I love them all so much, but they’re not mine.”  
  
“So… you _don’t_ have a wife?”  
  
Clint rolled his eyes. “For a genius philanthropist, you’re a fucking moron. Of course I have a wife.” He expected Tony to react to that, but all he got back was the continued look of confusion. “ _Natasha_ , you idiot. So no, I don’t get to see my wife.”  
  
“That’s why you’re so worried about her.” He paused, letting the information sink in.  
  
He had taken the appearance of Laura and two, almost three, children at face value; no one had ever told him, he’d just assumed and ran away with it before he could be corrected. But they were not his secret family, they were their family. It was obvious; the looks, the in-jokes, the subtle touches and secrets shared. It was there in the fear when the other was hurt or in trouble. It was there in the way Nat had gone to face Clint when he was under Loki’s control, the way she’d stayed and looked after him, then known she could trust him immediately afterwards. It was there in the way Clint had drawn her out of the visions Wanda had trapped her in, and the way he’d cradled Natasha’s face as he spoke to her, bringing her back to herself. It was there in their faith and trust, in spending way too much time together, in having personal tracking systems, and lounging together with their limbs intertwined. Most of all it was there in the shared quarters, always shared. How had he been so stupid? Just abandoned his carefully formed theory in an instant?  
  
“Am I the last one to know?”  
  
“Probably.”  
  
The archer’s temper seemed to be waning, he supposed that was the effect talking about her had on him. “So, Rogers and Banner you both worked closely with, and Sam. Wanda, that’s a given, Scott too I guess, he did make the deal as well. But Thor?”  
  
“I think so. We didn’t _tell_ them, any of them. They just haven’t been subtle about their suspicions. We _were_ gonna tell everyone, until our team started crumbling, and now _this_? It’s hardly been a concern.”  
  
“Right. But Pepper knows?”  
  
“Probably. They’re good friends; and she has much better awareness than you.”  
  
“You’ve got me there.” Tony expected the argument to start up again, but he could see the situation was getting to him. “Did Nat tell you to take a deal?”  
  
He nodded. “I tried to make her part of it, but they said there was no deal to be made for her; legally I count as a guardian for those children, she doesn’t. But she is, she should be here.”  
  
“That may be true, but you don’t need to worry, she’s tough and very capable, she can take care of herself.”  
  
“So you never worry about Pepper?”  
  
“Point taken.” He tried to soften his demeanour as much as possible. “Look, I didn’t make the law, whatever I did it would still apply, I thought we’d be better under it than outside it.”  
  
“You didn’t have to make it worse.”  
  
Tony nodded. “True. What if I make it better? I know I can’t change Ross’ mind, and there’re too many countries supporting it right now. I can’t stop them being outlaws, I tried, but what if I made sure that Nat could come home? I want to help and that seems a good place to start.”  
  
“How are you gonna do that? I’m stuck here and they’re looking for them, for her, they’ll know if she comes here.”  
  
“The farmhouse, it’s still off the records, right?”  
  
Clint nodded. “I didn’t want to put my brother and his wife in danger when I became an agent. Fury agreed to give them a house that didn’t exist on paper, we were no longer brothers on file and for good measure, officially they live here. That’s why I’m stuck here, alone, and not there. They visit most days but I only agreed to make this deal to be there for them and instead I’ve traded an hour or two a day for their safety. All I’ve really done is revealed our connection. I’m starting to feel like this was a shitty deal; I’m not with them and I’m not with Nat.”  
  
“Okay...” Deliberating a moment, Tony opened his phone, pressing the screen a few times then starting to type as he spoke. “So we cheat the system. Your monitor is hardly high tech. I make it think that the location of the farmhouse matches this location; they think you’re here, so they watch here, or some modified footage. Meanwhile you’re somewhere Nat can hide, right where those kids are.”  
  
“Can’t you just set it to think any location is here?”  
  
“No.” Stark shook his head. “Mess with it too much and they’ll get suspicious. The whole point is to be under the radar.”  
  
“Under the radar,” Clint scoffed.  
  
“You don’t have to accept my help. I could just leave you here alone.”  
  
He eyed his visitor suspiciously. “Why don’t you want them in check? Why do you want us to have freedom now?”  
  
“I never wanted you imprisoned, any of you. But you’re right, I did this to you, and most of you haven’t done me any wrong. Until we can find a way to change the Accords, or until they realise they need us and get rid of them, I want to make sure everyone’s okay. I’m gonna help everyone that will let me.” Tony turned his gaze away, pausing for a moment until he accepted that Clint would need to see his face and read him for his next point to work. “Besides, I owe Nat, alright? For what I said, for what I did. We could have achieved what she wanted if I’d given it time. She was right to side with you, to choose her friends. I want her to be with friends, with her _best friend_.”  
  
“How do I know I can trust you?”  
  
“You won’t until you’re home with your wife. You make the contact, I don’t need to know where she is, or anyone else. We’ll move you at night, keep the signal static so it looks like you’re sleeping until we get there, and when you’re together, I hope you’ll both trust me again.”  
  
“I can’t promise that.”  
  
“I know. But let me help anyway.”  
  
It would be so easy to turn him down, make him suffer the consequences of his actions a little longer, but that wasn’t Clint’s priority, it didn’t even come close. “If it’ll keep Nat safe, okay. Can you make it tonight?”

* * *

“Nat?” Clint leant on the railing at the back of the farmhouse, looking out into the darkness. So far Stark’s plan seemed to be working, the boundaries of the farm replacing the boundaries of the place he’d first been tied to. At least now he was stuck somewhere he wanted to be. “ _Tasha_?” He put extra emphasis behind her name but kept the volume low. He didn’t even know whether she was there yet, he wasn’t sure how far she needed to travel, but thought she was likely to be in the state.  
  
The previous week Laura had told him they’d seen Nat. She’d shown up one evening under the cover of darkness, trying to stop the children worrying about her, and wanting to pass a note on to him. He had at least been glad to know she wasn’t isolated; he knew Steve and Sam cared about her, Wanda and Vision too, and though they all still had means of contacting each other for emergencies it had been decided months ago that the team should split up; they just stood out too much when they were all together. That was before he’d taken the deal, and even though she’d insisted they do that for those scared kids, it had never sat right with him that she’d be alone.  
  
Their ‘old school’ spy tech had been the only thing giving him some semblance of peace of mind. Every morning and every evening at eight, like clockwork, she gave him a pulse of her tracking beacon. It wasn’t enough to send her location, just enough to know she was okay. Then he’d press his for her so she’d know it had been received. It wasn’t enough but it had had to be.  
  
The regularity of the ritual was why it surprised him so much when there at 3am his phone flared up with her marker. “What?” He looked at the screen, worried for an instant, and then when it flashed a few more times and showed her location, he shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Tasha, you can come out, trust me.” He leant further forward, now resting his forearms on the railing, waiting.  
  
“Hello, handsome.”  
  
Clint turned on the spot. How did she get behind him? And when he saw her face it hit him yet again what a lucky man he was. “Hello, beautiful.” He beamed at her, closing the distance between them and wrapping her in his arms. “Are you alright?”  
  
Natasha nodded against him. “Better for seeing you.”  
  
Moving to cradle her head in his palm, he turned to kiss her hair. “I’m sorry you’ve been on your own.”  
  
“So have you,” she pointed out. “I’m sorry the deal didn’t work out how we planned.”  
  
“Who cares?” He pulled back to look at her again. “In the end, we’ve worked it into exactly the deal we wanted.”  
  
She smiled back at him. “Why didn’t we just hide here in the first place?”  
  
“Because we’re idiots.”  
  
Laughing at him, Natasha tucked herself into his side, leaning her head against him as they looked out across the field. Beyond the trees in the distance she could see some streetlights, and light from the half-moon in the sky bounced off something metal out amongst the grass; was that Lila’s bike? “Can you believe we were worried Tony was gonna compromise this place if we came here?”  
  
“Given what happened, yes. But the irony of him bringing us here isn’t lost on me…” He paused, mind wandering away from that thought as he gazed down at the top of her head.  
  
To her surprise, he didn’t continue, and then she felt his fingers running through her hair, so she looked up at him. “What?”  
  
“I don’t think I will ever get used to the blonde.”  
  
“I hate it too. But my red‒”  
  
“Is too distinctive, I know. I still miss it.”  
  
“So long as you still love me as a blonde.” She smirked, holding her gaze on his.  
  
He nodded. “I’ve missed you so much.”  
  
Gently cupping his cheek, Nat pulled him in for a kiss, relishing the simple act they’d been denied for a month. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve been up for about twenty hours. I could use some sleep. You coming to bed? It looks cozy.”  
  
With a shake of his head, for a moment he just beamed at her. “As if you think I’m gonna say no‒ Wait, were you inside? Did you get here before me?”  
  
“Of course I did. I had a head start; you couldn’t even leave until the middle of the night.” She smiled, curling her fingers against the back of his neck. “But I wasn’t far; I needed to make sure you were okay, and them. Where did you think I’d go?”  
  
Clint stared at her, joy written on all his features. They had stayed nearby as much as they could as a pair of fugitives, and visited a few times over those three months. That was how they’d known how hard it was on the children for them to be on the run; they’d gotten used to having their uncle and aunt around and couldn’t stop worrying about them being imprisoned, or worse, if they were caught. No amount of reassurance that they wouldn’t get caught had really helped, in the end they’d agreed that their niece and nephews needed stability re-established, so they decided to take a deal.  
  
If the Avengers couldn’t operate, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had, more or less, dissolved, was it really such a problem if they had restrictions placed on them? Without work or their friends around, their lives were each other and their family who lived at the homestead. He couldn’t deny that it had hit him hard when they’d refused to let Natasha in on the deal, she was his rock, and he’d wanted to forget the whole thing until she’d reminded him how much those kids had been through, that they needed him even if they couldn’t have both of them. Being stuck in that stupid place without her, thinking about her hiding in the shadows alone, had been a low level of hell with the only respite being the few hours he saw those four smiling, reassured faces.  
  
Thinking about it, he couldn’t say where he’d thought she’d been hiding, only that she had felt so very far away. “God, I love you.” He pulled her closer for a moment to press a kiss to her lips. “Hold on, did you let me stand out here calling for you like an idiot?”  
  
“I was waiting to surprise you; most people go inside when they get home.”  
  
“I didn’t want to go in. All I wanted was to see you. You’re my home.”  
  
For a moment she was still, just gazing at him, wondering not for the first time what she’d done to deserve him. “You know that you’ve always been mine too. I love you, and it’s so good to be home.” Leaning into him, she pressed her face into his shoulder, and for a few seconds Clint tightened his arms around her until he realised she must be starting to feel every one of those hours she’d been awake.  
  
“Come on, let’s get to that cozy bed of ours.” With her tucked against him, he slowly started to lead her into the house. “We can rest, recuperate, forget about everything else. Well, for tonight at least.”  
  
Nat gently squeezed his side. “Hey, I know it kind of sucks to still be under house arrest. But it won’t be forever. One day you won’t have to wear that thing, we’ll both be free, and things will be better again.”  
  
Curling his index finger under her chin, he carefully lifted her gaze back to his. “Until then, I promise to fill our days here with joy and laughter and adventure, and love, however I can within these four… hedges?”  
  
His stupid joke was met with a tiny shake of her head, but she smiled at the sentiment all the same. “Trust me. _This_ is right where I wanna be.”


End file.
